ii. The n a t u r e of the renaissance and its manifestations.

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Objectives: The study focused attention on the IQ'*' century Renaissance in Bengal and its influence on Indian education. The aspects studied were:

i. Historical background of the r e n a i s s a n c e and the factors responsible for it.

ii. The n a t u r e of the renaissance and its manifestations.

iii. The different leaders and their contribution to the r e n a i s s a n c e movement, and

iv. The educational bearing of the movement in relation to the concepts and aims of education, organization and expansion of education, curriculum and text books, growth of language and literature, women's education and the influence of Bengal on other regions of India.

Methodology:

This was a library based research with data from primary and secondary sources.

Findings: Some of the main observations were:

i. The 19th century was a crucial period in Indian history.

It marked the transition of Indian society from medievalism to modernism.

ii. In this period the renaissance began in Bengal and spread all over the country. It was very closely inter- linked with the activities of the Christian missionaries and the introduction of English education.

iii. During this period, The Bible was translated and the books on various subjects like History, Geography, Zoology, etc. were published in simple Bengali.

iv. The Missionaries translated, edited and published many

Sanskrit books and this drew the attention of the people

to their ancient culture and heritage.